VELUX EHF FINAL4 remains in Cologne until 2020

At its meeting in Valencia, Spain on 26 March 2015, the EHF Executive Committee reached the decision to award the organisation of the event to the City of Cologne and the LANXESS arena for an additional four years.

With the existing agreement with the City of Cologne due to expire after the 2016 event, the new agreement will cover the period 2017 to 2020.

Following negotiations by the EHF and EHF Marketing GmbH, the EHF’s marketing subsidiary and the event organiser, the new agreement also includes an additional clause that allows the two-day sport and entertainment event to move to a new city for a one-off event in 2018, 2019 or 2020, if desired.

Commenting on the agreement, Jean Brihault, EHF President, said: “Over the past five years we have enjoyed tremendous support from both the City of Cologne and the LANXESS arena, and this close cooperation has undoubtedly contributed to the huge success of the VELUX EHF FINAL4. 

"Having achieved so much already, we’re now really looking forward to further strengthening our partnership over the coming years.”

“Cologne is without doubt the right city for the VELUX EHF FINAL4; a fact borne out year on year by the tens of thousands of handball fans returning to the city to witness the sporting and entertainment mega-event that the VELUX EHF FINAL4 has become.

"This long-term agreement to remain in Cologne offers us the opportunity to further grow the event and build on our success to date,” said Peter Vargo, Managing Director, EHF Marketing GmbH.

Jürgen Roters, Lord Mayor of the City of Cologne, said: “It’s a tremendous compliment to the Cologne sports community, with its enthusiastic and fair spectators, and also to the organisation in Cologne, that the European Handball Federation has decided to continue to play the Champions League finals in Cologne until 2020. 

"This is also the result of the excellent cooperation between all those involved. We have been successful in the competition with other handball-cities - a special vote of confidence. We can be really proud of this achievement.”

Stefan Löcher, Managing Director of the LANXESS arena, said: “In 2010 when the first VELUX EHF FINAL4 was held in the LANXESS arena, we couldn’t have dreamed that, despite fierce competition, we would secure this top-class international event until 2020. This is a great accolade for the sports city Cologne and the LANXESS arena.

"Working together over the last few years, we have been successful in establishing this top-class tournament event as a mega-event and we would like to thank the EHF for the trust they have placed in us.”